Ellen McCormack, an antiabortion activist who drew attention to her cause and stirred controversy over campaign finance rules when she ran for president in 1976 and 1980, died March 27 at an assisted living facility in Avon, Conn. She was 84 and had congestive heart failure.
Mrs. McCormack, a Long Island, N.Y., homemaker and grandmother, became the first female presidential candidate to qualify for Secret Service protection and federal campaign subsidies.
She had never held a political office when she launched her first drive for the White House, three years after the Supreme Court recognized a woman’s right to an abortion with its landmark Roe v. Wade decision.
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The sole Democratic presidential candidate to advocate for a constitutional ban on abortion, Mrs. McCormack won more than 200,000 votes in 18 primaries.
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After her loss in 1976, Mrs. McCormack went on to co-found the national Right to Life Party and in 1978 ran under its banner for lieutenant governor of New York.
Full story:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/ellen_mccormack_antiabortion_presidential_candidate_dies_at_84/2011/03/31/AFvsMHCC_story.htmlAlso, according to the
NY Daily News, "Her son, John McCormack, 45, a retired NYPD homicide sergeant, said his mom had a serious heart problem when she was pregnant with him."
Now, the Right to Life Party is embedded in one of the major political parties. Guess which one?